Page 122 of Love You Like That (Excess All Areas 4)

She wandered into the kitchen where Cerys and Jase waited. “Here,” she said, passing the red wine and corkscrew to Alex. “Make yourself useful and open that.”

“This smells so good, Zoe,” Jase said.

“And I saw the pavlova in the fridge, it looks amazing,” Cerys added.

“Thanks. I was home this afternoon, so I decided you might want a hearty meal.”

Zoe opened the lamb that had been resting beneath foil on the cutting board and reached for the large knife. Meticulously, she cut slices of equal thickness. It was perfectly cooked, still pink. She grabbed a small piece that had broken off and slid it into Alex’s mouth.

He grinned as he playfully bit her fingers.

Step one. She was going to flirt with him all night. As she turned, she let her shirt slip off her shoulder so he could see the strap of her underwear. Before he poured the wine, he kissed the skin softly and then winked at her.

Step two began when they were seated at the table, with food and wine. Beneath the table, she ran her hand up Alex’s thigh. Higher and higher, each time her little finger getting closer and closer to the bulge in his joggers. Once, he glanced at her, the second time, he raised an eyebrow. The third, he clamped his hand over hers, moved it to her lap, and slid the entire side of his palm against her clit while Jase and Cerys were distracted.

“Stop,” he signed.

She bit down on her lip and stood to clear the plates.

“Stop,” Jase said, echoing what Alex had said to her, and she bit back a grin at the coincidence. “Nan would kill me if I let you clear the table after cooking. Let Cerys do it.”

As Cerys turned to Jase, open-mouthed, he kissed her cheek. “Kidding, sunshine. Me and Alex have got it.”

She watched as Jase cleared and Alex rinsed until all the dishes were put into the dishwasher. Then she rose to get the pavlova from the fridge and placed it on the table.

“Holy shit, Zoe. That’s a masterpiece,” Alex said, as he sat down. “Nan would be impressed.”

“Maybe you could walk her a piece over when we’re done.”

Jase laughed. “My bet is Alex isn’t going anywhere when we’re done.”

Alex grinned. “Are we swapping houses again? I’ll stay here this time?”

Jase offered his hand across the table. “Agreed.”

“Do we not get a say?” Cerys asked.

“You don’t want to sleep with me tonight, sunshine?”

“I do.”

“Do you want Alex and Zoe to hear us? Or do you want to hear them?”

She looked across the table at Zoe. “The man has a point.”

“Fair enough.”

“You might have no choice,” Cerys said. “You have to move out in four weeks.”

“We’ll have found somewhere to stay by then,” Jase reassured.

Zoe turned to Alex. “How come?”

“Dickhead landlord. Sold the house out from under us while we’ve been on tour. Gave us a month’s notice. The email came this morning.”

“Well, I don’t mind if you guys move in here temporarily.” Zoe began to slice the pavlova, giving everyone a hefty slice.

“Yeah?” Alex asked.

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